Mega challenge:Jennifer stood staring daggers at the ancient printing press, which had thrown out gobs of ink in all directions. The ink had ricochet and she had a large ink spot on her work apron. This is so wrong, she thought, it is imperative that the articles be printed for the good of humanity. Information on pluralism and personhood. She studied the machine trying to understand how she could make it work smoother. OK, the best thing would be to buy a new press. That would require her to buy a winning lottery ticket. Jennifer glanced at her watch giving her the reality that the press was not going to be in working order tonight. She left the diabolical machine and headed upstairs wiping her hands on the well positioned paper toweling.The ink had not only spotted her apron but her face was now speckled, Jennifer discovered as she looked in the mirror above the restroom sink. She knew she must do a quick clean up because she had to go to the choral society meeting tonight. The ink spots did not come off but faded a bit. A quick comb through, make up to cover the speckles, and a change into a red sweater and black slacks, she was ready for the choral society.Jennifer lived a few blocks from the college auditorium so she walked briskly brushing through the autumn leaves on the sidewalk. She loved fall. She thought she heard someone behind her then a shadow loomed in front of her. A tall young man wearing glasses, and a brown suit coat over tan slacks passed by her, giving her a slight glance. Martin Flask professor of mathematics. He appeared to be in a hurry, as she was, but he had longer legs. She kept up almost to a yard behind him. As they entered the auditorium he vanished. She gave it no thought ,because of the number of rooms in the building, he could be going to anyone of them.Her choral group was on stage, so she ran to her position. Jennifer was not prepared for the grueling practice. Mrs Foltz the director was not easily pleased, they practiced parts over and over again. At the end of an hour Mrs Foltz began taking names of those who would be there for the performance. Mrs Foltz seemed on edge maybe because of some inner demons or maybe because her sister who had a bestseller three times would be in the audience. Their choral group, Kingdom Singers was a outstanding group and Mrs Foltz had no reason to feel inferior to her sister.Every member quickly cleared out of the auditorium. Jennifer joined the exiting group and then found herself alone. It was dark now and streetlights provided the shadows of the tree limbs. She found herself walking quickly this time because it was cooler, and she felt that someone was stalking her. No one was visible, but she heard footsteps, making her do some twisting of her head to see if she could see someone. She turned to go up the sidewalk to her home when he stepped into her path.He grabbed her arms and said her name, Jennifer Logan. It was not angry or hostile voice, it came in a calm firm tone, like one of a father. How did he know her name? Her self protection courses did come into play. It was a head butt, foot stomp and knee to the groin. She shouted his name, and gave a cry that would make Carol Burnett proud. He was caught off guard, giving her the chance to unlock the door and get in to lock it. A 911 call was made.Jennifer gave the name of her attacker, and the police followed up, only it became his word against hers. No action was taken. Jennifer began her own investigation, and that printing press may become her weapon.Mini Challenge:Sandra Shore changed her bus route in the city so that once a day she would go to the bowling alley with her dentist office above, hoping to find the young man with the striped shirt. He would have the answer of her inner demons, and outer one as well. She read a bestsellerthree times sitting on that bus. The penguin would mock her by pretending to approach each passengertaking names. She ignore the penguin, no one else could see it. She had to find that Gypsy'skingdom to get some answers.She left the safety of the bus, and began walking up the street. It was an area of worn buildings and grass in the sidewalks. Moving into an alley Sandy saw a large white body. Her first thought was the llama. She followed walking into the alley but the llama had vanished. Her penguin began pushing her back to the main sidewalk giving her the message that the alley way was not safe. It was getting time to catch the bus back home, and still no answers to her questions.

14 comments:

I'm glad that Jennifer wasn't a wall flower and new how to take care of herself. Hmmmmm I'm wondering how the printing press is going to be her weapon. Martin must have been helping her. The mini challenge was awesome using Jeff's Portrait of Words. As usual, great this week bettygram :)

Love the Sandy story... And how amazing that you incorporated Jeff's challenge into the wordzzles. I forgot all about Portrait of Words this month. I have been very bad about doing that one. I do love the penguin... Sandy does live an exciting life.

It would seem that Martin Flask did not want to harm Jennifer. Maybe, he has another sideline to his mathematic skills. Could he also repair antigue printing presses? Maybe he is just an admirer in the strangest sort of way.

WoHooo... I love both stories. Looking forward to hearing more about what Jennifer does in her investigation of the stalker. Great how you brought Sandy Shore back to show us she's looking for the Gypsy who might be able to help remove the curse. VERY well done today.